Abstract 1 Importance of increasing road safety for ... - Uwaba.or.tz

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Cycling offers numerous mobility benefits to the user relative to public transport and walking,particularly over distances of 2-10km. It is a private, door-to-door means of transport which does notinvolve walking to a bus stop, waiting for a bus or the risk of the bus being full or overcrowded. Cyclingis much quicker than walking. Cycling also has health benefits; The WHO Charter on Transport,Environment and Health (London, June 1999) aims to promote cycling and walking and suggests thathalf an hour’s daily exercise significantly reduces the risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and highblood pressure. In addition, the cost of maintaining a bicycle for a year is approximately 2.5% of the costof maintaining a private vehicle for a year, and also compares favourably to the cost of public transport,given that individual residents of Dar es Salaam typically spend Tsh 200,000 to Tsh 400,000 per year onbus fares. A case study from South Africa shows low-income earners spending 25% of income on publictransport to and from work; with bicycle purchase, after initial purchase cost, the household cost oftransport was reduced to 5% of income after three months. vCycling is also an environmentally friendly means of transport as it does not have any emissions.Tanzania is committed to improving urban air quality through increased provision for non-motorisedtransport, as stated in the “Eastern Africa Regional Framework Agreement on Air Pollution” adopted at aMinisterial conference on air quality in Nairobi in 2008, which undertakes to:2
“Encourage the use of non motorized transport systems that have many advantages and are used by anoverwhelming majority, but are constantly overlooked. At least 10% of infrastructure costs should bededicated to this majority and the focus should be on safety. Particular emphasis should be given tohigh-demand, mixed-use roads in urban and peri-urban areas;” vi .As well as not contributing to urban air pollution, cycling also does not contribute to global climatechange. 50% of Tanzania’s carbon dioxide emissions come from the transport sector vii . It is likely that alarge proportion of these emissions come from private vehicles in Dar es Salaam, as vehicles operating incongested conditions use 3 times as much fuel and emit 3 times as much carbon as vehicles movingsmoothly viii . Therefore promoting cycling can form a cornerstone to Tanzania’s contribution to reducingthe problem of climate change, both by substituting for vehicles and by reducing congestion.Cycling is also an equitable mode of transport in that it is accessible to people who cannot easily usepublic transport or private vehicles including children and people with mobility disabilities. According tothe 2002 census and the National Disability Policy ix , Tanzania has 967,932 who have a physical disability.Many of these people use arm-tricycles as a principle means of transport. For reasons of cost andpricing, school children in Dar es Salaam often have difficulties getting to school by public transport,while cycling offers a potential solution to this.A photograph of a disabled user of arm tricycle:In summary, according to the European Conference of Ministers of Transport x , cycling is environmentallyfriendly, cost-effective, quick and healthy, or to quote the United Nations Environmental Programme“All in all, investments in NMT infrastructure are cost-efficient, pro-poor and pro-developmentmeasures” xi3
Page 1: AbstractROAD SAFETY FOR CYCLISTS IN
Page 5 and 6: In Dar es Salaam, the most common d
Page 7 and 8: 3 Photographs of cycling conditions
Page 9 and 10: An example of barriers on Nyerere R
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Abstract 1 Importance of increasing road safety for ... - Uwaba.or.tz

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